Given name & surname · also Germanic
Wolfgang
“one who takes the wolf's path”
Wolfgang is used as a given name and a surname. One German interpretation is “one who takes the wolf's path.”
Original GermanWolf
Meaning & origin
What it means
One German interpretation is “one who takes the wolf's path.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Germanic.
How it developed
From German Wolfgang, from Medieval Latin Wolfgangus, from Middle High German Wolfgang, from Old High German Wolfgang.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1929. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Wolfgang through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 3,220
- 3,220 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2021
- 148 babies
- 2025
- 115
- #1,519 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +2%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 115 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,519 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 2.2% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (18). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 4,732 as a first name in 2020; 2,710 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Wolfgang’s family of names
In German usage, Wolfgang has a diminutive in Wolf. In German usage, Wolfgang has a conventional equivalent in the Hungarian form Farkas. Wolfgang has a short form in Wolf.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Wolfgang has relatives in 33 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Germanic roots to each of them.
34 related names in 33 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 7
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 30
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Vukequivalent
- Wolfangoequivalent
- ВольфгангRussian, xal
- ΒόλφγκανγκGreek
- ΒόλφανγκοGreek
- Volfgangequivalent
- VolfangoItalian
- FarkasHungarian
Show 22 moreShow fewer
- WolfgangusLatin
- VolfgangoEsperanto
- װאָלפֿגאַנגYiddish
- ولفگانگPersian
- वुल्फग्याङ्गnew
- वोल्फगान्कNepali
- वुल्फगांगMarathi
- वुल्फगँगMarathi
- ভোল্ফগাংক্bpy, Bengali
- VolfgangasLithuanian
- فوڵفگانگckb
- 볼프강Korean
- ヴォルフガングJapanese
- वुल्फ़्गैंगHindi
- וולפגנגHebrew
- ვოლფგანგიGeorgian
- 胡尔夫岡Cantonese
- Во̀лфгангBulgarian
- VolfqanqAzerbaijani
- ՎոլֆգանգArmenian
- فولفغانغArabic
- ቮልፍጋንግAmharic
People named Wolfgang
- Wolfgang Pauliphysicist, Nobel prize winner (1900–1958)
- Wolfgang PaulGerman physicist (1913–1993)
- Wolfgang KetterleGerman physicistborn 1957
- Wolfgang SchäubleGerman politician and statesman (1942–2023)
- Wolfgang PetersenGerman film director (1941–2022)
- Felix MagathGerman association football player and managerborn 1953
- Wolfgang SchüsselChancellor of Austria from 2000 to 2007born 1945
- Wolfgang OverathGerman footballerborn 1943
- Wolfgang KöhlerGerman-American psychologist and phenomenologist (1887-1967)
Characters named Wolfgang: Baron Strucker (Marvel Comics).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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